Hoping Americans Heard the Pope's Call for Compassion

Sister Phyllis Tierney, in a guest essay in Sunday's Democrat and Chronicle, writes of compassion for immigrants. In December, she worked at a shelter on the Mexican border between El Paso and Juarez, the same location where the pope said Mass Wednesday (February 17). Click the link below to see Sister's essay.


http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/opinion/guest-column/2016/02/20/pope-mexico/80661678/#

Images of the Migrant/Refugee and the Border

At a conference on Saturday sponsored by the Hope Border Institute, one of the points made is that the people crossing into the United States are no longer simply migrants.  They are refugees fleeing violence, rape and persecution in their home countries.  Yet, as was also pointed out, we cannot think of them simply as poor victims of unjust systems who need our used clothing and unwanted jobs.  They are our brothers and sisters.  They are our future.  They are strong people who have faced incredible barriers and have overcome them with their faith and perseverance.

Another question raised at this conference was about where the voice of the Church can be found.  As this area prepares for Pope Francis’ visit,  today’s paper tells of the struggle of the Diocese of El Paso to get permission to have people gather in an area reserved on the levee road which would be the closest point people on this side of the border could be to get to see Pope Francis.

This article quoted Elizabeth O’Hara, spokeswoman for the Diocese, saying “That gathering of people is going to be the very people that Pope Francis is celebrating his Mass for.  These are going to be immigrants, refugees, the victims of violence that live in our community.  We are referring to this group as Francis VIPs because this is a group of people that typically is not considered VIP in any other aspect of their life, but Pope Francis certainly considers them that.”

The article also quoted Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso speaking of Pope Francis:  “We’ve heard from the first days of his papacy that we need to take seriously the model that Jesus has given us.  That as Christians, we have a special love and desire to serve those who are most in need…He will be about 65 feet from those gathered on the levee, so you can imagine.  For those gathered, it will be something they will never forget.  What a great opportunity to show our love for the poor.”

In Saturday’s conference it was stated that the border, one of the most militarized areas in the world with the fence, helicopters, and troops to prove it, has become the epicenter of pain and also of organization and resistance.  In a letter to the editor today from the Interfaith Alliance, Rev. Deborah Clugy Soto wrote the following:  “We unite our voices with Pope Francis in defending the dignity of every person, especially the poor, the vulnerable and the migrant.  With Pope Francis, we affirm the gifts and contributions migrants make to our communities and to our nation.  We can no longer remain indifferent to the refugee fleeing torture, violence, hunger and poverty.  We pray that Pope Francis’ visit will show the world the peaceful co-existence of the border’s peoples, cultures, and faith communities.  We hope that the pope’s historic pilgrimage to our borderlands will encourage and confirm us in our work to build a border that is a place of encounter for greater peace, tolerance and understanding.” 

May we all work to promote an open “culture of encounter” with our refugee brothers and sisters rather than a walled in fortress to exclude God’s VIPs.   

 

                     Sisters Bea, Rose Ange and Rita at Casa Vides, part of Annunciation House